


Fallen from the Sky

by purplecake



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, F/F, Gert - Freeform, If you've ever seen the show star-crossed, Molly - Freeform, and Chase, are also aliens, but gayyyyyyyyy, cause i can, this is basically that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-03-14 08:54:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13586640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplecake/pseuds/purplecake
Summary: A strange space ship crashed to Earth 9 years ago, carrying a giant race of aliens called the Gibborim. They seek asylum, but recieve a violent welcome from the human race. The young blonde girl that 8 year old Nico Minoru finds taking shelter in her tree house is one of them, and when she is captured, Nico believes her to be dead.Now, 9 years later, the Gibborim are allowed to take part in a project, that brings 4 of their young teens to Atlas Academy, for the creation of new and improved relations between the humans and Gibborim.The project also brings a somewhat familiar face Nico thought she'd never see again.Star - crossed AU





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so ye there was this show that was cancelled a while back called Star-Crossed, following pretty much this story line, and I wanted to write another Deanoru fanfic soooooo here I am with an AU. 
> 
> Key things are that Molly is a bit older mostly to fit in with the others a bit more (So I could put her in the same high school group thing). 
> 
> Also Gert, Molly, and Chase are also aliens, cause Karolina on her own would have been a bit cruel really. I wanted a gang of badass aliens okay!? 
> 
> Annnnnndd finally, yes I called the alien race Gibborim. I just couldn't find a better name. I was going to name them comic book Karolina's alien race, but I didn't think that was very fitting, so I just stuck with Gibborim. 
> 
> But yes, enjoy. If you think of a better name, plez let me know. If you have any beef with my story, also let me know, cause of course I want to make this as enjoyable as possible!!!
> 
> As for now, have some fun reading!!!!

The alien ship was long and glowing silver as it neared Earth. A curiosity was quickly replaced by panic as the strange structure got nearer and nearer, breaking the barrier and crashing through the city of New York, knocking down buildings and crashing heavily into the ground, through pipes and pavement.

Nico Minoru and her parents were sitting around their dinner table when it happened. It had been the anniversary of her sister, Amy's death, and they ate slowly while Nico fought hard to focus on the good and not the bad memories. The 8 year old girl had been swirling her fork through her food when the power shut off, and her mother let out a small gasp.

Her father told them to keep calm, but it became impossible when their dining room was filled with a different sort of light. Bright and colourful, like a rainbow. Nico climbed onto the couch, and gazed from their house window out into the city.

They'd lived a few miles from the center of the city, but the ship's structure had been massive enough even when half of it had sunk into the ground that they could see the top of the ship high over the roofs of the skyscrapers that were still standing. Her father had walked over to the light switch, flicked it a few times. Dead. He tried the taps, and only a single drop trickled out before it came dry.

They would hear about the aliens later, when the power had been fixed, the news filled with images and statistics that Nico's mother hid her eyes from. About the 300,000 dead life forms that had been on the ship. About the estimated 5,000 that had been caught and detained. About the 2,000 human lives crushed by the ship landing.

Fear spread quickly, and it wasn't long before the president was announcing the construction of a ghetto type area, a decontamination space for the rest of the living alien life forms to live, where they could be controlled, where they couldn't pose danger. Nico watched the news each morning and each night before school and bed, eyes wide as she saw her father appear on television, helping to fund and build this new area for aliens. Her young mind couldn't comprehend the idea, but despite the numbers dead, she couldn't fear them. She found herself thinking of her older sister, and decided that Amy wouldn't be scared.

And if Amy wouldn't have been scared, than neither would Nico.

It was three days after the ship landed that Nico found the small blonde girl sat in the attic of her tree house. Her and Amy had built that when they were younger, long before Amy died. It had been their safe place, where they would go whenever something would happen. They'd had sleepovers there, and Amy played with Nico's dolls despite being way too old for that. She complained a lot, but she never missed out on it when Nico asked.

The girl had been huddled under an old blanket, sat on the plush chair that Nico's dad had dragged up for them. The girl was so petite, that she was sunk deep into its centre.

Nico wasn't stupid. As soon as she saw the glowing marks on the girl's skin, and the strange clothes she was wearing, she knew. She was smart for an 8 year old, her parents had told her.

Bright blue eyes watched her from the edge of the blanket as Nico approached her with her arms out. "It's okay," she mumbled softly when the girl flinched, "I won't hurt you."

It took another few days until the girl reacted to Nico in any other way except flinching. Nico brought up some peanut butter sandwiches the first night she'd found her, and the girl had only flinched back and hid her face in her hands. When Nico had come back the next night, she'd expected the girl to be gone. Instead, she was sat in the same space as before, but this time the sandwiches were gone, leaving behind not even one single crumb.

It was on the third day, when Nico brought her up some spaghetti, that the girl pulled down the blanket and held her small hands out for the food with a shy smile. Nico got a first good look at her face, and realized with shock that the girl couldn't have been much younger than Nico herself. Her face was pale and hair thick and blonde, not green or bald or big headed like the cartoon aliens she'd seen. The only difference that was widely noticeable, were the streaks of colour that looked like tattoos or smears of glowing paint covering small parts of her skin (one long streak drew from the corner of her left eyebrow to the end of her jaw, while another slid down through her fingers and up to her elbow like pieces of ribbon). They could be seen glowing on her skin dully though the dark.

There had been a silver bracelet, with an engraved pattern on it, settled on her left wrist.

"Karolina," she'd mumbled with a thick accented voice, pointing a shaking hand at herself. Nico smiled, and did the same with her name. Karolina smiled.

The army found the girl the next day. They raised their guns up at the tree, and yelled roughly. When Karolina didn't appear, they shot up at Nico's tree house. A few minutes later, a soldier was climbing down the ladder to the tree house with the alien girl in his arms, eyes closed and arms hanging. She wasn't breathing.

Nico's father carried her into the house quickly with her mother covering her from the alien, even as Nico yelled and kicked for them to stop, to save her.

When the truck drove off, Nico watching with tears at her eyes at the window sill. Nico climbed up to the tree house for the final time that night, still crying. She wrapped herself in the blanket and sat on the plush chair, when something hard dug into her leg.

She reached down to pluck it from the chair, and the tears returned full force. It was Karolina's silver bracelet.

8 year old Nico clutched it tight for a few seconds, then slipped it around her wrist.

 

**9 years later**

 

_"We have finally come to the day, where the alien race who called themselves Gibborim are going to join Atlas Academy as a part of the project helping to unite the race of Gibborim and human together. What an exciting day for everyone who-,"_

Alex switched off the radio with a scoff.

"They couldn't sound more unexcited if they wanted to," he complained, and Nico snorted with laughter.

It had been announced last year, that joining the seniors would be four of Gibborim teenagers. They didn't know much about them, but that was normal. The public didn't know much about Gibborim, except that they populated a small government controlled area north of New York. It was closed off entirely, with no admission to anyone besides guard and government officials.

"It's a big deal, though, you gotta admit," Nico responded, adjusting her bag over her shoulders as she stood on the side of the road, waiting as Alex got out of the car. "I mean, none of the Gibborim have ever been out of the compound."

Alex joined her on the sidewalk, and they began to walk, left towards the school. He was smiling and nodding when she turned to look at him. "Yeah, of course it's amazing! I mean we get to study with aliens, Nico! Aliens!" He jumped up, and did a small jig, and it reminded Nico of the time of Alex's 12th birthday when she finally agreed to play D&D with him for the first time. "First and final time" she had argued, but Alex's smiled hadn't gotten any smaller.

"I mean, they have been here for 9 years, and we've never really seen them!" Nico almost froze at that. Her mind flashed back to the days after their arrival, to the little girl she had helped, with the blue eyes and colourful markings over her skin.

She never got the chance to respond, as noise reached them. Sounds of shouting and anger. "What the-?"

They turned the corner, and paused. The front of the school was filled with protesters. The Riot crew was on standby, cops dressed in heavy gear waiting by the closed gates, which were the only barrier that separated the school from the angry mob. Nico managed a glance at what their signs were reading, and immediately felt disgust building in her chest. Based on the angry look on Alex's face, he had noticed too.

One of the police officers had noticed them, and ran out to fetch them, just as a yellow school bus pulled up to the parking lot, and the protesters swarmed.

Nico just about managed to get a glimpse of the cops rushing forward, thought she saw her dad's face peeking from the bus's front window before her and Alex were ushered inside the school. The students had pressed themselves as close to the glass as they were allowed by the guards, hoping to get a good look at the new arrivals.

There were four of them, just like the news said, three girl and a guy. They were surrounded on all sides by cops, who pushed protesters out of the way and lead the Gibborim towards the school doors. They cleared an area for them inside, the four alien teens standing among humans for the first time in their lives. Some people hooted down insults, some even braved hellos. Most just stayed silent, watching curiously like Alex and Nico. The two stood side by side, observing the aliens as the guards went around and touched a strange device to tight metal gauntlet things at the teenagers' wrists.

They all seemed close, huddled together. The two of the shorter girls, one with long curled hair and a soft face (obviously the youngest there, despite all of them starting in the same year), and one slightly taller with purple hair were holding hands tightly. A blonde girl, blue eyes glaring up at the yelling students who were lined up on the stairs, had her hand resting on the purple haired girl's shoulder. The guy, stood at the end had braced his shoulders, squaring his form. He was trying to be intimidating, Nico realized, and with the uneasy looks some of the sports team were giving him it was definitely working.

All four of them had colourful markings spread across their skins, in different places for each of them.

Nico watched each of them, looking over their modern clothes obviously given to them to fit in more with the crowd, but still either a shade of gray, white or black. Sometimes a splash of red or dark blue, but those were the only colours. Not that Nico complained at the dark colours, she thought as she looked down at the dark dress and long boots she was wearing.

When she looked up again, the tallest Gibborim, the blonde girl in the middle, was staring straight at her. Her blue eyes were boring into Nico's and her head was turned sideways as she watched her. Something like recognition swam in her bright eyes.

Nico blinked, trying to fight off the blush she could feel flooding her cheeks, and thanked herself for putting on the layers of make up she had this morning, which she hoped would hide the red decorating her cheeks.

Alex seemed to notice, but when Nico nudged him hard in the ribs, he stopped his laughter.

Once the guards were done, the alien teenagers were directed off, up the stairs and disappeared into the office block of the school, where the principal's office was. Alex turned to Nico as soon as they turned and disappeared. "What do you think those bracelets were?" He asked, pushing his glasses up from where they were falling from his nose.

Nico shrugged. Her mind was clouded, filled with a feeling familiarity. The bracelet around her wrist, silver and engraved with strange symbols, almost burnt her skin where it sat around her wrist. The blonde girls eyes burned her brain.

She shrugged it off quickly. "I don't know. Some form of registration maybe?"

Alex clicked his fingers, nodding. "Trackers probably, too. So they know where they are at all times."

"Get to class everyone," one of the guards yelled, and the mass of students began to move. Conversation didn't differ, all focused on the strange new arrivals.

Nico wasn't surprised to see her father standing at the front of the room when she and Alex walked into their first period that morning. He smiled at her softly like he always did, and squeezed her shoulder in passing, a way of comforting her. He'd told her that morning that he would be present to welcome the four alien students to their new environment. "That's the job," he'd smiled as he drank the rest of his coffee while Nico's mother handed him the guard jacket and bulletproof vest.

Her father worked in the compound, but had put so much work and funding into the project, that he was given the full lead on it when it was finally decided. Her mother hadn't been very pleased, constantly talking his ear off about the dangers and all that they didn't know about the strange creatures. Nico's father had shrugged off her concerns, placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, kissed her forehead.

"I will be fine," he had reassured her calmly, and those four words somehow made everything all better. Her father had the power to do that somehow.

He stood in front of them all now, smiling calmly as he waited for all to come in and sit. Once everyone was comfortable, he gave Nico and Alex and small wink and addressed the room.

"As you are all aware, we have some new students with us, who will be joining you in a few seconds." Nico noticed the four chairs and desk that had been set out on the back row. "I must warn you that security will be increased massively, for both your own protection as well as theirs. I must also make sure, although I am certain none of you would ever behave in such a way, that and actions or language of the foul or abusive kind will not be tolerated."

Nico watched her father's eyes wonder to the center of the room, where the head cheerleader and lacrosse captain sat side by side, but didn't linger on them too long. Message received, by the look of their tense faces.

"They are our guests, but we are here to learn from them as much as they will be learning from us. Treat them well, and you could be looking at the start of a new era." Nico's father smiled, and with that done, he walked towards the door and swung it open.

The four aliens filed in a stood awkwardly at the side of the room, looking briefly at the students sat and staring at them all, trying their best not to act any differently. Nico's eyes involuntarily drifted to the blonde, but this time the Gibborim girl wasn't looking at her, but was focused on her father as he began to talk. She noticed how they were with him, despite being stood in front of a whole room full of strangers, they were more relaxed with him. It was understandable, since he'd worked with them for almost four years now, but also good. Nico felt proud for her father, watching as he talked in a low voice to the Gibborim students briefly.

The lacrosse captain, Lucas, lent forward in his seat. "What a bunch of freaks." Eiffel laughed from beside him, and Alex wasted no time in leaning back in his seat, meeting the lacrosse player's eyes.

"Shut the hell up, Lucas."

"Okay!" Nico's dad walked back over to the front with his smile, eyes travelling briefly to the glaring boys. Alex moved back to face forward, but Nico didn't miss the glare Lucas sent at the back of his head. "I'd like you all to meet our newest students. He pointed at each of the teenagers in turn, all who looked either extremely dangerous (in the case of the tall boy and the blonde girl who were actively glaring ahead, and the purple haired girl who had her arms folded across her chest, obviously protective of the youngest girl), or extremely nervous. The girl with the curled hair, introduced as Molly Hernandez, barely moved apart from giving a small wave from where she was looking at the floor. The purple haired girl was Gertrude Yorkes, but with a glare his way Nico's father quickly corrected himself, warning them all to just call her Gert with an easy smile. The only guy squared his shoulders and pulled his hands from his pockets to show clenched fists, was introduced as Chase Stein.

The tall blonde girl was last. She was looked over all of the students now, glare only strong as she watched the lacrosse players in the middle. She noticed Nico just as her father called her name. "Karolina Dean."

 _"Karolina," the small blonde girl had pointed to herself with a shy smile._ Nico's mouth fell open. She scanned the girl's face, noticing the streak of colour over her face, exactly the same as it had been 9 years ago, the colours wrapping themselves around her arm and fingers. There were new streaks of colour, but there was no mistaking her, not when those bright blue eyes connected with Nico's from across the room, and familiarity hit the goth girl hard. 

The girl she thought had died 9 years ago, was standing right in front of her.  _Alive._


	2. Chapter 2

Karolina Dean first saw Earth in fire, bullets and blood. Her bare feet landed on rough concrete, with screams and fear surrounding her. Her father had grabbed her, hugging her tightly against his chest as he ran from the tall buildings covered in flames, for the green ahead. 

Her face was still wet with her father's blood when her mother pulled her up with tears in her eyes, pushed her daughter away and yelled at her to run. 

Karolina hated Earth and its people at that moment, as she ran ahead clumsily, hearing the screams of her friends and family around her. 

Until the girl in the wooden house held out her hand to her, and faced her not with screaming anger or guns, but a sandwich and an easy smile. The face of the girl, Nico, she recalled, was embedded into her mind for years on end. Maybe it was her Gibborim physiology, she would tell herself in her own denial, that she could remember the young girl's face as if she'd seen it yesterday. And looking at her now, over the shoulder of the guard checking her bracelet, there was no doubt in Karolina's mind. 

She looked different. Older, mostly, yet still beautiful. Her face was decorated with dark makeup, and Karolina tilted her head to admire the girl that was so familiar, yet so different. Still Karolina remembered the warmth of that wooden house, brought through the kindness of that girl. 

When their eyes met in the classroom, Karolina felt a sense of relief at the realization she could see in the girl's eyes. She remembers me, she thought, and her face light up with a smile. 

But that happiness didn't last too long. The human teenagers were not welcoming to them, to put in in a nice way. The first time they had been shown their lockers, a janitor was kneeling in front of them with a bucket and cloth, wiping away at the thick marker spelling out slurs. Karolina stopped Chase with a gentle hand to his arm as he swore loudly and went to punch the offending words. 

A hand reached down to the janitor. "Please, sir. Do not worry about that." Karolina took the cloth from him, but the man barely looked at them as he took the bucket and scurried away. 

"Wow, would you look at that," It was one of the boys from their class, Lucas, flagged by two other boys and a short girl with a smug grin on her face who had spoken. He was stood with his arms wrapped across his chest, staring at them with a grin. Karolina saw the danger in it, and her shoulders tensed. 

Over at the end of the corridor, and tall boy with wild curled hair rounded the corner. Karolina tensed further when she noticed who followed. The two of them stopped and frowned when they saw the Gibborim surrounded by Eiffle and the lacrosse team. 

Lucas took a closer step. "Even the janitor doesn't want to look at you." The gaggle surrounding him laughed, and Karolina felt Chase seething beside her. 

She could pretty much see Gert rolling her eyes, despite having her back turned. "I'm guessing this beautiful piece of art work is yours then, buffoon?" Gert pushed her glasses up, and smirked when her comment hit home, swiping the smile from the boy's face. 

He took another step forward. 

"What did you just call me?" 

Gert moved from behind Karolina, stepping closer to Lucas. His teeth were clenched, jaw tight. "Did you really not hear? Or are you as deaf as well as dumb?" 

The last thing any of them expected was for Lucas to go for the punch. Karolina rushed up and pulled Gert by the arm, just as the punch hit. Karolina fell, more to do with the shock than the force of the hit. 

There was shouting above, and although her head hurt Karolina recognized the voice as Chase's. His punches landed furiously into Lucas, knees knocking into his ribs and spilling blood from his nose with his knuckles before the guards stationed in the corridor heard the chaos and came rushing, grabbing Chase by the arms and forcing him down, face pressed against the corridor. 

Hers fell onto Karolina's shoulders, fingers touching where Lucas's knuckles had hit her, just to the left of her eye. Dots of black fluttered into her vision, but when she looked up expecting to see Gert or Molly, she instead found the face of the girl she'd never forget. 

She could hear Gert yelling at the guard, then at the boys, then after the guard again, but Robert Minoru had appeared with worry in his eyes, standing in front of Gert, attempting to calm her down as he placed a comforting hand on Molly's shoulder. But Karolina couldn't focus, staring into the eyes of the girl who'd saved her so long ago. 

Before either of them had the chance to say anything, Robert Minoru knelled down besides them. "Karolina?" He asked, "Are you okay?" He eyed the swelling already building around her eye, and his own gaze turning into a glare as he looked up at Lucas, who was being led away by one of the guards gently by the arm. 

"Let's get you out of here," he turned to Nico, "Help me, Nico." Nico's fingers wrapped around her upper arm, and with Robert they lifted her from the floor cautiously. The room spun for a short time, before Gert appeared in front of her with Molly at her shoulder. Her expression went from worried to angry in a split second when she caught sight of Karolina's face. 

"Those bastards," she hissed, and the streak of colour on her face glowed brighter with anger. Robert gave her a look of warning, a request for control. Molly looked up closely at her sister, but didn't say her usual "language," which had become a running joke with them. 

They led Karolina to one of the classrooms, and Robert handed Karolina a roll of tissue before heading for the door. "I'll bring back a nurse, and check up on Chase." Gert followed after him after checking with Karolina. 

Molly stared worriedly at Karolina. The blonde's eye had swelled up quite a lot, puffed up around her eyebrow and around her cheek. The asshole really had been heavy handed, she thought as she struggled to blink without shooting pain. When she caught Molly's eye, she pulled herself together and gave the younger girl a small smile. 

"I'm okay, Molly," she said as confidently as she could. "Go, check with Gert and Chase."

The younger Gibborim hesitated, but Karolina placed a hand over her shoulder, and squeezed softly. "Go, Molly. Robert will be came soon with the nurse, and she'll fix me up."

With a few more seconds of hesitation and another smile from Karolina, the girl left and closed the door to the classroom behind her. The sound of her feet could be heard running down the corridor. 

Through the whole thing, Karolina hadn't forgotten about Nico, still stood at her side, although a little further than she had before. She had watched the whole encounter with tense shoulders, worry squeezing her heart. 

When the two girls were left alone, something between worry and relief filled both of them. Nico took a shaky step forward, and Karolina looked up as she came closer.

Nico wasn't looking at her. Her eyes were cast down, staring at her fidgeting hands. For a long time, there was silence. Then - 

"You know, my experience of this plant hasn't been the greatest," Karolina laughed, but it was bitter. Nico looked up at her then, slightly confused at the line of conversation. Still, Karolina continued. "Yet somehow, you always give me hope. 9 years ago, today."

Nico stared at her, and for reasons she saw unknown, her eyes became wet with tears. She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly she chocked on the sentence. She tried again, but still, the words were shaky with nerves and memories when they made it out. 

"I still remember when they carried you out, limp in the soldier's arms." She swallowed, and then looked the girl in the eye. "I thought you were dead." 

Karolina smiled, slipping from the table where she had been sat. The girl was a lot taller than Nico, and she had to look up at her when she smiled brightly. 

"I am alive, because of you." Her hands settled on Nico's shoulders. Shock was written on her face. "I never thanked you for that." 

The door unlocked, and Robert came in followed by a thin woman dressed in white. She carried a roll of wipes and a bottle which must have been alcohol. "Let's get you cleaned up, Karolina." Robert smiled. The tall girl took her arms off Nico's shoulders, frowning as much as she could with a swollen eye. 

"Where's Chase?" She asked, and Nico saw the change in her demeanor, shoulders tensing and back straight, despite the small tilt her body gave as she stood. 

Nico's father smiled, but it was tense. Nico knew that look well. "He is fine. I managed to get him out, and he delivered most of the hits rather than took any, so he's mostly okay."

But? Nico thought, as she watched from the side. The nurse had approached the Gibborim, and had her sit back down as she cleaned the skin around her eye. 

"But?" Karolina asked, hissing softly as the streak of colour along her jaw glowed with pain. "What's wrong, Robert?" 

Robert hesitated for a long time, but finally with a sigh he told Karolina. "You are all on curfew because of the incident, Karolina. By 4 o'clock back at the compound, or you will be arrested."


	3. A Cry for Home

he compound had been built in a few months, in order to house the Gibborim race safely away from humans. To keep humans safe, more than anything, given the compound's sorry state. It was a run down town, with shacks for homes and barracks selling things ranging from herbs to weapons to mobile phones. The epicenter for illegal activity.

Karolina hated the streets of the compound, they gangs of Gibborim planning attacks on the guards, the skeevy groups selling anything illegal. Her mother always preached how Gibborim were a race of peace and understanding, not violence, but despite the growing loyalty for their leader, there was also hatred. Not once were attacks led on by guards stopped by Karolina's mother, yet despite the avoidance of death it never won her mother any loyalty points from the more dangerous people in the compound. 

Still, it had been because of her mother that the programme with the humans went ahead. Leslie Dean had been pushing for years from the human council and Robert Minoru to give the Gibborim a chance with the humans, and when it finally became a reality, Karolina had never seen the grin on her mother's face any wider. 

"You are in the process of creating history," she'd told the Gibborim teens that morning, as the old yellow bus pulled up outside the compound gates, and Robert Minoru stepped out to greet them with a smile. "This is a step in a completely new direction." 

Karolina tried to desperately think of that when her left eye ached with each blink, and she couldn't manage to keep her balance. She saw her mother loosing her natural cool as soon as she saw the state of her daughter's face, Chase in cuffs behind his back, Molly and Gert supporting Karolina from each side as they walked from the bus to the compound gates. The guards tried their best to remain monotone in their facial features, but even they looked on in pity as the teens were led back inside. 

Robert came inside with his hands raised high in the air, an apology on his lips as soon as he made eye contact with Leslie Dean. Still, she pushed past him to her daughter, taking her face gently into her hands. The swelling had gone down slightly thanks to the ice, but the bruising had already set in, deep purple of it mixing with the colours over Karolina's face. 

"What the hell happened?" Leslie hissed at Robert, but her eyes never left her daughters. She hugged her tight, glaring at the human over her daughter's head. 

"They got into a bit of a scruff with some of the lacrosse team." His face was solemn, eyes cast down. It had been more than just a scruff, Leslie could tell, and she could feel where the origins of the scruff had come from. 

"Release the boy at once." She ordered, and despite the clear orders the guards were under, they didn't hesitate to unlock the cuffs around Chase's wrists. The boy shurgged off the hands of the guard, glared, and joined the rest of them, side to side with Gert. "Thank you, Mrs Dean."

"I'd expected this," she said angrily under her breath, as she led Karolina down the streets, past the markets. A few looks and the Gibborim yelling about luxury items for sale nodded shamefully and was putting them away under his stand. "But never with my own daughter." She gave Gert and Molly a quick look over as they proceeded to take the rickety metal stairs to their shack, asked Chase if he was okay. 

They were all sat around their table, Gert with her head in her hands, Molly with her head rested on the metal of the table, when Robert stepped up with six cups of tea and set them down on the table in the middle. "They are reacting this way because they aren't familiar with you," he stated, taking a sip of his tea. He brought over a cloth soaked with cold water, and handed it to Leslie, who began to dab at her daughter's face with it, as gently as she could. 

"So what do you suggest, Robert? I invite them all to my home for dinner?" It was meant as a sarcastic response, but they all came away surprised when the guard nodded his head quickly. 

"That's exactly what I mean. Shown them how you live, teach them about your cultures. It will give them a better understanding of us, and what they understand they are less likely to feel threatened by."

Leslie dropped the cloth. "After they attacked my children?" Leslie knew well that Gert, Molly and Chase weren't her children. But they had been living with her since the Compound was built, their own parents lost during landing or in the violence that followed after, just like Karolina's father. They were all family, if not by blood. 

"It would help make sure it never happens again." 

The Gibborim children around the table made subtle eye contact with each other. It was a bit of bullshit, possible would result in more violence than good, but it was worth the shot. Karolina could help but think to Nico, wonder what it would be like to get to show the girl her home, and her custom. 

She took a deep breath. "Mom, I think it could be a good idea." Leslie's eyebrows shot up in unexpected shock, but a moment of silence and she relaxed. Perhaps her daughter was right. Perhaps this would mark change, the same way that the project into Atlas Academy had planned to change relations between human and Gibborim. 

"Okay." Robert's shoulders dropped in relief, and he smiled. "One week from now. Only 10 students. Pick them well, and make sure the stupid baboons that caused my kids trouble today are on this trip." She sipped her tea, and when she placed it back on the table to get back to tending to Karolina's face, there was a small, evil smile on her face. "I'd like to take a look at those idiots myself." The Gibborim teenagers laughed. 

When Nico's father told her about the trip into the compound, she was the first to ask him to go. She expected some restrain, but her father had laughed and told her just as quickly that he had been hoping for that to be her first response. She asked for Alex, and soon enough both of them had permission to go. 

She wasn't pleased when the next day, Lucas and Eiffel were both told to attend the trip. The only consolation to it was that they didn't seem that eager either, based on their sour looks. 

The Gibborim teens came back to school the next day, as if nothing had happened the day before, except the obvious. Karolina's left side of her face was a mixture of colour, and it wasn't just her alien DNA. The bruising was deep purple under her eye and her eyelid was swollen still where Lucas had hit her hard at the eyebrow. Chase and Gert, and even the younger Molly all glared in the direction of the lacrosse team any time they were in the same room, but never made a move towards them. They sat silently in class, listening and sometimes talking among themselves but never to any of the human students, except when Lucas had hissed at them about not pledging to the flag, and Chase had told him to "shove the flag up your ass, dickhead." It had been amusing to say the least, watching Lucas turn red. Other times, Alex would nudge her with a smug smile on his face, and she would find Karolina staring at her from the back of the room. She averted her eyes as soon as Nico met her blue ones with a smile. 

There were no other major accidents that day, until lunch. 

Nico and Alex ran their photography club, laying out the pictures they had taken over the summer on a table as they picked out the better ones and pinned them to the board out in the corridor. The students around them were eating, just another normal day. The hall fell silent for a split second, and without turning Nico knew that the Gibborim students had come in, but the sounds of a high school resumed soon enough. 

Nico and Alex were so engrossed in their club, they didn't even notice the tall blonde girl approaching their stall, or admiring the pictures. It wasn't until Nico turned to pick up another photograph, that she almost bumped into Karolina Dean, who was holding one of her pictures up to admire it. 

Nico's heart stopped. 

"These are really good." Karolina said, and her smile and voice were so genuine, Nico was smiling without even realising it. Alex came up next to her, and she could hear his smug grin. 

"Why thank you, Karolina." He answered, and the Gibborim seemed pleasantly surprised to get a positive response from the boy. That shock on her face broke Nico's heart. She took the second as Alex and Karolina made small conversation to look over Karolina's face. The swelling had mostly gone down around her eye, but Nico wasn't focused on that. It was the colours spread across Karolina's face, glowing irregularly as she spoke that got her attention. Her fingers itched for her camera. 

"You have two hearts?" Was what got Nico back into the conversation, as Alex stared open mouthed at the Gibborim. Karolina laughed softly, shaking her head. "No of course not." There was a pause, and then Karolina followed with, "I have four," and gave Nico a small wink as Alex asked another million questions. The wink was so smooth and so quick, Nico almost missed it. She was glad she didn't. 

"Anyway, I better leave you guys to it, then." Before she was fully turned, she looked back them with a thoughtful look. "You should bring a camera with you to the compound. It would be nice to get a few pictures of the place for everyone back here who won't see it." 

Nico watched her leave, heading back to her table were Chase, Molly and Gert had been watching, and then turned back to her pictures. There was a bright smile on her face. She could sense Alex watching her, and her smile grew wider. "What?" She asked. 

She didn't need Alex to answer. Nico knew the answer would be "You know what." 

Not even a second passed, though, before Alex nudged her desperately, and she looked up at him, only to find he was looking at something behind them. 

Lucas was standing up from his seat, blocking Karolina from getting past to her own table. Nico's breath stopped in her throat, heart freezing. She replayed the scene from yesterday in her head, of Lucas's fist connecting with Karolina's face as the Gibborim fell to the floor. She couldn't hear any of the words being said, but Lucas had his normal smug look plastered all over, with Eiffel grinning up at the interaction from her seat. Further back, the other Gibborim were making their way around. Gert made it over first, glaring Lucas's way but focused intently on her friend. 

The guards stood by the cafeteria doors clocked on the interaction immediately, and tensed but didn't move. 

It wasn't until Nico took as step closer, and Lucas's eyes found her behind Karolina, that she got a sense of what that tense conversation was about. 

"You play by our rules here, freak. You don't talk to us." 

It was about her and Alex. 

Before Nico could rush forward and give the idiot a piece of her mind, Alex grabbed her arm gently in his own hand, nodding his head to the side. Nico saw her father approaching with a worried look, and as soon as the lacrosse captain noticed the guard approach, he gave Karolina a final glare and took a seat. 

The Gibborim shared a look and walked towards Robert. With a few short words, and a quick look over to Nico and Alex, they were leaving the canteen and disappearing down the corridor. 

When Nico first saw the compound it was through the shouting voices and angry faces of human protesters, crowded around compound gates. Still, the guard pushed through and secured a safe path, and the students were ushered in through to the compound with Nico's father leading the way. 

The first thing Nico noticed was the state of it all. She hadn't know what she'd expected, but it had certainly not been this. The compound was run down shacks, and gravel streets. Items raging from food to spare metal parts were being sold by vendors at the street side, rough looking men with long beards and dirty faces or small women with dirty clothes. A few skeemy guys hung around in the shadows of the houses, watching the human students as they crowded together, the gates closing behind them. 

The would jump forward, open their giant coats wide and present them with items that ranged from small hand made guns to cell phones. Robert was quick to send him off, and the man had swore (Nico assumed) and rushed off down the street with a guard on his tale. 

"You will get a lot of that here." Was the first thing Robert Minoru said to them all as they all set a foot in the compound. "So watch each other's backs and stay together, and especially stay with a guard at all times. We don't want any accidents."

It was then that Nico noticed a familiar group of people approaching from the streets behind Robert. Karolina, Gert, Molly and Chase were talking among themselves, grinning widely when they noticed the group of human students standing in the central market. 

Karolina's mother didn't seem that happy about it, but still she smiled as she came up to Robert's side. 

"I must say, welcome to our home." She eyed the students, and immediately clocked onto Lucas and Eiffel, who were stood close together, wide eyes searching around them quickly. "I am Leslie Dean. Most here consider me their leader." The last name caught all of their attention. Nico turned her eyes to Karolina, who was standing beside her mother. When their eyes met, Karolina raised her hand in a wave and smiled wide. 

"You will be walking around in pairs, each accompanied with a guard both for your safety and the safety of our people here." Leslie directed a hand to the group of guards, who were stood to the side with stoic expressions and unblinking eyes. 

With a final smile, more tense than her previous ones, Leslie Dean raised her arms. "Let's go then."

Karolina, Molly and Gert stuck with Alex and Nico. Chase had muttered something about Lucas and wondered off, and while Karolina wanted to follow him and make sure he didn't do anything stupid, she also knew Chase was smarter than that. And also the guard wouldn't let him. 

They showed Nico and Alex the most obvious places. The crashed ship was by far the biggest structure in the compound, taking up most of the space. When they came nearer and nearer, Nico noticed that its base, almost 100 meters off the ground, the metal casing of the ship was completely covered by flowers. The earth around it was planted with them, some growing higher than the fence that surrounded the structure. 

"Is this...?" Nico looked towards Karolina, who had been watching for their reactions from the side. Gert nodded instead, smirking at her friend's star struck look. 

"Our own memorial, for those that were lost on arrival day and in the years that followed. Each flower represents a life lost." 

There must have been hundreds of thousands, Nico thought as she looked over all the flowers plastered around the ship. 

"But they are fresh?" Alex questioned, yet surprisingly Karolina still smiled, despite the questioning of such a delicate topic. 

"Yes, we try to keep it as such. The flowers are replaced every once in a while. It takes long," the blonde girl pauses for a long second, just watching the flowers. "But it helps us remember, respect."

"Our parents," Molly spoke up, her voice wobbly, and looking over them Nico and Alex realised that the three of them had tears building in their eyes. "They're up there too."

Alex reached over and lay a hand on Karolina and Gert's shoulders, then grasped Molly's and squeezed it tight. "We're very sorry."

"It's okay. Do not apologise for what was not your fault." Karolina's eyes thanked Alex, and he moved his hands with a nod. "Our parents, our friends, they are in a better place now."

It had been a peaceful time in the compound, and for hours Nico and Alex wondered through it with the other Gibborim, learning of their cultures and watching their everyday lives play out. They got to see their home, even try some of the food they eat. 

"We cook it with special spice that we grow. From our home planet", Karolina had explained. 

They should have known it was too good to last. 

Leslie Dean and Robert were waiting for the guards to bring back the students in front of the compound gates, in the central market. Karolina and the rest of the Gibborim had appeared a few minutes before, and were wondering the stalls when a shout went up ahead. The click of a gun was loud in Karolina's ears, as her own guard clicked off the safety, and raised it up with the finger on the trigger. 

He was pressing it so quickly, Karolina barely noticed where he had been aiming before the bullet had been fired. She grabbed Molly by the hand and pushed Gert down, before diving for Nico and Alex, bringing them to the ground just as the guard yelled "For Pride!" and fired another shot with the same aim. 

Pride. Of course. 

Both shots hit their mark before other guards tackled him to the ground. 

It wasn't until he was being dragged away, his shirt torn and hat ripped off, did Karolina see the glowing marks of the Gibborim race over his skin. 

Karolina grabbed Nico's face in her hands gently, looking for any signs of injury. Apart from the shaking hands that came to rest on her own, and terrified wide eyes, the girl seemed to be fine. Alex nodded shakily when she asked him if he was okay, and Gert told her not to worry. 

Molly was quiet, staring off towards the direction of the compound gates. Karolina's eyes were still buzzing from the gun shot, but through the noise and screams of the other Gibborim, she heard the youngest Gibborim sobbing. 

Robert was hold her mother in his arms, pressing his fingers to her chest as they flooded with red. 

It was as if time slowed. Karolina's legs barely supported her weight as she dragged herself across the market square to her mother's side. Robert had yelled at her to run, to get away, that she shouldn't see this, but Karolina didn't listen. She could barely hear him. 

Her body was numb, and she was barely aware that she had managed enough strength to push Robert away, and pull her mother into her arms. 

Her eyes were closed, and the colours that normally swam under her skin became duller and duller with each passing second, until they dimmed out completely. 

Gert and Molly joined Karolina's side, both crying. They hugged the tall blonde girl, as tight as they could, but knew this wouldn't help. Chase had appeared with tears in his eyes and anger clutching his fists, but he fell to his knees next to them and touched Leslie's shoulder. 

She was colder and colder by the minute. 

A mother, lost to them all. 

Nico and Alex watched, shocked and heart broken. Nico's father found her eyes, and she almost cried for the heart break she saw in them, almost cried for the sobbing and pain she could hear coming from the Gibborim students. 

Leslie Dean was dead.


	4. How it all begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it has been lonnnnnnggggg. But I am back with this probably very crap chapter, so I guess enjoy ladzzz and tell me how it was??

There was blood at her fingertips, from where her hand was pressed against her side. She could barely feel the pain anymore, a strange numbness she'd never had before settling over her as she sat there, back against the wood of the tree house that so long ago had been the only refuge she had found on this planet. There was a window on the wall adjacent to hers, from where she could see the night sky clearly. 

She was too cold, Karolina thought, but it didn't make any sense. The blood pouring over her shirt, not much of it stopped by her shaking and pale hands, was warm, but she was shivering. It may have been her blood deprived mind, but no matter the reason it still made no sense to her. 

Her mother was looking down at her if Karolina focused enough on the stars. She was up there, smiling at her daughter, proud of her, waiting. Her father too, Frank Dean, the man she had considered her real father despite everything that had happened. Thousands of her people, up there in the stars. The whole prospect of death became much more welcoming with that thought, with the feeling that her people, her mother and father who she had missed so much, would be waiting for her with open arms and no judgement if only she decided to give up. 

But she couldn't, and sat in the tree house where Nico Minoru had been the first human to show her kindness, she knew exactly why she had to resist. Why she had to push the memory of her parents away, and stay exactly where she was, on earth with the people who still needed her. People that she still needed herself. 

It was all fun thinking about not giving up, but even with her alien biology, she was dying quickly. "Huh," Karolina huffed, not even realising she was speaking out loud. "Guess dying makes you a lot more blunt." She pulled her hand away from the wound at her stomach, watching for a few seconds as the blood just continued to pour. She shrugged off her hoodie, with slow and weighed down movements and tears in her eyes, pressing it as much as she could without whimpering in pain against the wound. Still, the cold feeling had spread across her arms, and now the whole of her body was shivering despite the stuffy summer air. 

Maybe it was too late, she thought. She saw her mother in the back of her lids as she closed her eyes, her father and his bright smile, Gert and her fiersness and Molly's innocence. Chase was there, raising his fists to defend her. And Nico. The girl she had fallen in love with. 

A sudden noise had her eyes blinking open, but it was like her lids were weighed down by tones of weights, and she barely managed to get a peak of what had caused the racket, before they were closing again. Still, the split second of sight was enough to recognise Nico's beautiful face staring at her with wide eyes, already filling with tears. 

"Karolina?" she whispered, heartbroken, into the darkness, where the alien girl's markings were glowing dimmer and dimmer by the minute. 

 

3 weeks earlier

 

The funeral had been beautiful, but Karolina couldn't see it as such. Her mother's pale body was laid out in white clothing amongst fresh soft buds of her favourite purple flowers, her outburn hair brushed to resemble rivers of molten lava. Almost all of Gibborim citizens showed up for the funeral. Each one made a point of shaking Karolina's hand or hugging her tight, telling her how much they were sorry or how much her mother would have loved this. 

Karolina hated them all, each and everyone of them who smiled at her or told her how beautiful the flowers were, or how much they had loved her mother. None of it was beautiful, because her mother was gone, along with everyone else, and she was alone. How the flowers looked didn't matter. 

Gert, Chase and Molly never left her side. For the 4 hours the funeral lasted, they stood at her side, Gert with her fingers tightly intertwinded with Karolina's while Molly tightly held Karolina's other hand. Chase was stood behind them, watching over the funeral with a stern face and folded arms. Karolina knew him well enough, to know that he was trying extremely hard not to cry. 

Robert Minoru didn't bother requesting they return to school, but he didn't have to. Karolina woke up at her normal time the next morning with deep set eyes and a tired face from the lack of sleep, packed her bag and set out to get the rest of the Gibborim before waiting for the bus. Robert had shared a look and a quick word with Chase and Gert, and while they were concerned, they weren't ready to argue with Karolina. Not when she was yet to snap, to show any reaction to her mother's death. 

When they asked her if she wanted to stay home, to wait a while, when Robert told her she didn't have to go back so soon, Karolina didn't look as she responded. 

"My mother started this project." 

That had been the end of the questioning. 

Everyone had been looking at them, more so than usual. The rough looking Karolina, who had normally been smiling, was clearly noticed, but even if that didn't raise any bells, the news feeds openly covering the attack of a Gibborim terrorist group called the Pride on the human teenagers. Chase had been yelling angrily about humans making everything about themselves at their lunch table, attacting eyes but not caring, when Gert touched him gently on the arm as a sign for him to stop. When his eyes asked why, she directed his attention to Karolina, who had an unaturally tight grip on her bottle of water which she wasn't drinking. 

Nico's eyes were pretty much burning into her back from the other side of the canteen, where Alex was trying to get her attention as he went on about the school lunches. He knew Nico wasn't paying attention, but he kept on talking, hoping that maybe it would distract Nico and himself from thinking about Leslie Dean and Karolina, hunched over her mother's body.

Nico couldn't see her face, but by her hunched over position and the cautious looks on her friends' faces, she knew the girl couldn't be in a good state. Not that she would expect it. She knew what it was like to loose a family member. 

There had been some hope, that maybe with the events that happened, Lucas and Eiffle would let all of it go. But when a shout went up from behind the Gibborim from one of the back tables where the lacross team was sat. "Your stupid race is going to regret ever messing with us, Dean." He yelled down. Karolina's head jerked up as her shoulders tensed. She didn't move further, but a sour feeling settled in Nico's throat. Like dread, a horrible feeling that she knew something bad was going to happen. "Oh wait," Lucas spoke up again, there was a smirk on his face, but even Eiffle was nudging him to shut up. "Your mother already paid that price." 

Karolina was up in a flash, rounding the table at a run with a furious look in her eyes. Gert yelled Karolina's name, then when it didn't work, she called Chase. Nico got up from her seat in shock, but all they could do was watch as Chase appeared in front of Karolina, grabbing her tight by the waist and holding her against his chest as she fought to get out of his grip, swearing and yelling at Lucas words that none of them could understand. 

The guards in the canteen tensed, stepping forward with their hands on the tasers at their waists. The streaks of colour visible along Karolina's arms were glowing angrily, and the girl pushed Chase away from her as hard as she could. As soon as he let go, she spun on her heal and stormed from the lunch hall. 

Gert was the first one after her, almost as soon as Karolina disappeared down the corridor. Nico grabbed the Gibborim by the arm as she passed her, and Gert spun almost furiously to look at her, before she realised it was Nico. "Let me," she pleaded, and after a moment of silence, Gert nodded. Nico's heart broke at the tears that she could see in the other girl's eyes. 

The halls of the school were empty and silent, and as soon as Nico rounded the corner into the corridor, she saw a hunched shape settled in the space between two locker racks, where one side was painted with alien slurs. Approaching her slowly, Nico settled into the space next to her on the floor, and waited. As soon as their shoulder's touched, Karolina turned into her and rested her head over her shoulder. Her hand found Nico's, and their fingers intertwined. For a long time, they just sat like that, silent. 

"I can't cry." Were the first words Karolina said, and Nico's heart broke at how shattered that sentence sounded. "No matter what happens, I just, I'm too angry." She was staring ahead at the row of lockers opposite them. "My mother is gone, and I can't even cry." Karolina slammed her free hand against the lockers at her back, and Nico tightened her grip on the girl's other hand. 

SHe took a deep breath, then, "When my sister died, for weeks I couldn't cry." She felt Karolina lift her head, felt her turn to look at her. She didn't respond, only kept talking. "I was angry too, at her for doing what she did, at leaving me. I thought I would never be able to mourn." There were tears in her eyes, but it came as a relief that someone would finally listen. "It wasn't till a month later when I found a hair clip of hers, something so small and stupid. And I started to sob." The tall Gibborim rested her head against Nico's, getting as close to a hug as she could when they were sat side by side on the floor. "You just need time," she finished, "is what I'm saying." And then she raised her hand to wipe the tears that were threatening to fall. 

"I'm sorry," she heard a whisper, and she grimaced.

"I'm sorry too." Finally, she turned to stare at Karolina. "Your mother seemed like a wonderful person."

"She was," came the response, and suddenly there were tears in her eyes, "she was the best person on this planet, and any other." When they dripped onto her cheeks, Karolina raised her own hand to wipe them away, but there were too many. Nico simply raised her arm to wrap it around Karolina's shoulders, and they sat together as she cried. 

It had been only minutes, but when Karolina sniffed and wiped her face, it had felt like hours. She took a deep breath. "My mother was our leader," she admitted, and Nico remembered Leslie saying so when they had been at the Compound. 

"I remember." Nico answered, but there was confusion in her voice as to where Karolina was going with this. 

The Gibborim huffed a laugh under her breath. "As her daughter, now that she can no longer lead, the leadership is mine."

Nico blinked at her in shock as they sat under the lockers. Karolina smiled bitterly, shaking her head. "Never imagined taking it like this, though."

 

Later that night, as a large flower, one of Leslie's favourite, was settled at the base of the ship, Karolina stood in front of it with her friends at her side as they all watched the night sky, the stars blinking down at them. Robert Minoru was there, behind her, eyes never leaving the newly added flower marking another lost life, as Nico by his side didn't let her eyes leave Karolina. 

"Let a positive thing come from this horrible, horrible day," a deep voice said from next to the Gibborim children, the man that had been her mother's second hand, that had placed the flower on the ship, that had advised her mother every step of her leadership. He held a small silver ring in his hand, one that her mother had used to wear almost everyday with pride, promising her daughter that one day it would be hers. 

He was tall, dark haired, dressed in pristine white clothes. Jonah stepped up to Karolina with a smile, although tight with emotion. He handed her the ring, which with hesitation she slipped onto her finger. The crowds around her cheered when she raised her hand for them to see. 

Somehow, despite all the excitement for the young girl to take leadership, Nico could see right through it as Karolina's eyes made eye contact with her. She didn't want this.

Jonah was still smiling at her, a sort of pride in his eyes as he watched the other Gibborim cheer for her. The ring glowed, the colours of her hands somehow brighter with it. With the distraction of it all, no one noticed Jonah and a stranger in the back of the crowd make eye contact. Didn't notice the nod, that initiated the next part of the plan.

**Author's Note:**

> How was it?!?!?! Let me know laddzzzzz!!!
> 
> tumblr - anacefromspace


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